Apparatus for the treatment of filamentary material



June 16, 1964 J. K. DALE ET AL 3,137,152

APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF FILAMENTARY MATERIAL Filed Dec. 26, 1962 INVENTORS 7 AA BY W United States Patent ce Nemours and Company, Wilmington, DeL, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 247,011

4 Claims. (Cl. 68-5) I This invention relates to a new and useful apparatus. More particularly, it relates toan apparatus useful for the treatment of synthetic continuous filamentary tows and the like with fluids in a substantially open chamber during the travel of the tow from one point to another.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful apparatus for treatingrunning lengths of synthetic tow with fluid. A further object is to provide an apparatus for high ratio drawing of running lengths of synthetic 'tow. A still further object is to provide an apparatus for relaxation of running lengths of synthetic tow. These and other objects will become apparent in the course of the following specification and claims.

Inaccordance with the present invention, a novel and usefulapparatus, is, provided for treating a running length of synthetic tow comprising a tow treating liquid, an openended chamber adaptable for passage of tow therethrough, the said chamber terminating at its tow receiving end in a venturi and being jacketed by a heat transfer fluid confining inclosure, heating means for the said inclosure, tow

supply means and tow forwarding means, the tow receiving end of said open-ended chamber being submerged in the said treating liquid, the said tow supply means being the venturi along with a current of liquid from the purifying bath. The length then enters a heat transfer fluid confining inclosure for heating liquid carried from the bath. Finally the length is removed from the inclosure and is subjected to subsequent stages of processing.

This invention is illustrated in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which FIGURES l, 2 and 3 are illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

As shown, the tow 1, passes around supply roll 2, said supply roll 2 being submerged in a tow treating liquid 3 in extraction tank 4, said treating liquid 3 being heated or cooled by coils 5, located within said extraction tank 4. The tow 1, then passes through a venturi 6, the tow receiving end of which is submerged in the treating liquid A 3 inextracting tank 4, venturi 6 being the tow receiving end of an open-ended tow treatment chamber 7 where tow 1 next passes. Tow treatment inclosure 7 is a relatively narrow chamber, preferably of good heat-conducting material and having an exterior insulated jacket 8 surrounding the tow treatment chamber 7. The tow treatment chamber 7 is externally heated by fluid entering a nozzle 9. A connection 10 is provided whereby said heating fluid may be discharged. The tow 1, then passes out of tow treatment chamber 7 through an exit opening 11 and around a set of forwarding rolls 12.

The venturi 6 comprises the material receiving end of said treatment chamber 7, having an initial wide opening that progressively gets smaller to about the longitudinal center thereof and then progressively gets wider until it reaches the same width as said treatment chamber 7.

3,137,152 Patented June 16, .1964

Said venturi is designed to process a multiplicity of towlike bundles or a contiguous web of parallel filaments. This venturi 6 acts as an inducer of a current of treatment liquid 3 from extraction tank 4 through the venturi 6 and into treatmentchamber 7. l V

The tow treatment chamber 7 is preferably made of good conducting materials such as steel, aluminum, copper and the like. Its dimensions vary widely depending upon the size of the tow to be treated and the speed with which it is to be processed. As will be apparent from the drawing, suflicient turbulence must be created at the ven- V +E =overall length V =venturi length E -heat transfer inclosure length W =venturi entrancewidth W =heat transfer inclosure width W :venturi minimum width Example Drawing Relaxation Acrylic Acrylic Fiber Fiber Final rope size (denier) 470, 000 470, 000 Number of ropes. 1 6 Width of ropes, inche l2 2 Apparatus Dimensions:

Overall length (V1.+EL), inches 44 44 Entrance width (W inches 3 3 Exit width (W2) inches 3 3 Venturi length (V1,), inches 14 Venturi minimum width (W3), inch Steam Pressure to Heat Fluid Confining Inclosure, p.s.i.g 70 70 Extraction Tank Water Temperature, 0;..- 98 98 Draw applied:

Before chamber 5. 82X In chamber 1. 23X

Total 7.05 Relaxation applied, percent None The fluids which are useful in the invention are those having a sufiiciently high boiling point to provide the heat required in drawing or relaxing the filaments treated and having a solvent power for the contained impurities. Examples of such fluids are water and water plus surface active agents or other ingredients that can be used in conjunction therewith, e.g., ingredients for washing, scrubbing, dyeing and lubricating such filaments. The temperature of the fluid used is maintained at least about C. andjnot substantially above its boilingpoint.

The filaments being treated in the invention can be in the form of a multiplicity of tow-like bundles or a contiguous web of parallel yarn strands. Examples of such filaments are the acrylics, polyamides, polyesters, or synthetic polymer filaments of other vinyl polymers.

The apparatus of the invention is particularly useful in facilitating drawing and relaxing of synthetic acrylic fiber. It permits such fiber to be drawn as high as eight times its original or extruded length. Preferably, however, such fiber is drawn from about six to seven times its original or extruded length. It is also useful, as illustrated, to provide relaxation of previously drawn fiber. Relaxation as high as twenty per cent of its drawn length can be obtained. Various draw and relaxation ratios can be obtained by operating forwarding rolls 12 at sufliciently.

also facilitates this drawingor relaxation of the fiber with essentially no process difiiculties, such as, frequent breakage of the individual fibers that make up the tow bundles orweb, and poor efficiency of solvent extraction from the drawn as well as facilitating extremely'high draw ratios of a large mass of synthetic acrylic fibers. Hereto-fore, such relaxation percentages and drawing ratios were only obtained by very elaborate and precise high pressure steam systems and then only for single yarn ends comprising relatively few filaments in each. The apparatus of this invention, even though simple and economical in both construction and operation, produces, as illustrated, unexpected and unobvious results.

Many equivalent modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of theabove without a departure from the inventive concept.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for treating a running length of continuous filamentary tow, and comprising in combination;

a bath of tow treating liquid, upwardly extending from said bath a generally straight treating chamber, and tow supply and forwarding means for directing free passage of said running length of tow from a submerged position in said bath into and through said chamber, said chamber having at opposite ends thereof tow-inlet and tow-discharge openings which are, respectively, disposed below and above the surface of said bath, said chamber comprising structure defining an elongated passageway and a venturi communicating therewith and terminating in said tow-inlet opening, the structure defining saidelongated passageway including means externally thereof for heating said tow during passage therethrough.

2.. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for heating said tow includes a heat-transfer-fiuid-confining jacket externally of said passageway and means for heating the fluid thereof.

3. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein said tow supply and forwarding means is adapted'to draw the filaments of said tow in length while in said chamber.

4. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein saidtow supply and forwarding means is adapted to relax the filaments of said tow while in said chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,584,043 Oberly Jan. 28, 1952 2,586,800 Elvin Feb. 26, 1952 2,622,961 Finlayson Dec. 23, 1952; 2,664,010 Emerson Dec. 29, 1953 2,833,136 Prince. May 6, 1958 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR TREATING A RUNNING LENGTH OF CONTINUOUS FILAMENTARY TOW AND COMPRISING IN COMBINATION; A BATH OF TOW TREATING LIQUID, UPWARDLY EXTENDING FROM SAID BATH A GENERALLY STRAIGHT TREATING CHAMBER, AND TOW SUPPLY AND FORWARDING MEANS FOR DIRECTING FREE PASSAGE OF SAID RUNNING LENGTH OF TOW FROM A SUBMERGED POSITION IN SAID BATH INTO AND THROUGH SAID CHAMBER, SAID CHAMBER HAVING AT OPPOSITE ENDS THEREOF TOW-INLET AND TOW-DISCHARGE OPENINGS WHICH ARE, RESPECTIVELY, DISPOSED BELOW AND ABOVE THE SURFACE OF SAID BATH, SAID CHAMBER COMPRISING STRUCTURE DEFINING AN ELONGATED PASSAGEWAY AND A VENTURI COMMUNICATING THEREWITH AND TERMINATING IN SAID TOW-INLET OPENING, THE STRUCTURE DEFINING SAID ELONGATED PASSAGEWAY INCLUDING MEANS EXTERNALLY THEREOF FOR HEATING SAID TOW DURING PASSAGE THERETHROUGH. 